Murder in Gryffindor
by Loverswriter
Summary: When Lily Evens is brutally murdered her friends must solve her past in order to find her killer.
1. Her Death

Murder in Gryffindor

Peter Pettigrew always drew the short stick. It was in his genes. His mother was big boned and his father was fat. That combined to make him plump. His three best friends the marauders on the other hand were all tall and lean. On many occasions he overheard girls talking about wanting to lick things off their chests. That's just gross thought Peter. They're hairy.

But it was because of his plumpness that Peter was slow. So when the marauders all put their hands up to say not it Peter of course was last. Which meant he had to take the invisible cloak and sneak down several flights of stairs and avoid Filtch's cat Mrs. Norris (Otherwise known as that cat bitch from hell), tickle some fruit and get a tray loaded with a bounty of food.

That evening the group of boys had been too busy to setting up a prank ( Okay more like four) to grab dinner in the Great Hall. So hours later Peter had to go and get something.

But that wasn't the reason that Peter had drawn the short stick. No, that was because less than two feet from him was Minerva McGonagall. Worse she was in her pjs. And that was scary.

On her head was a sleep cap and slippers were placed on her feet. She had a bathrobe wrapped around her. It was a striking appearance that was for sure, but Peter looked closer. The professor was scared. Her face was etched with fear and she looked distraught.

Peter was slowly trying to edge by her when his luck got worse. The Head Master Albus Dumbledore made his way to them. Or rather to McGonagall as Peter was still hidden under the cloak.

"Oh Merlin," McGonagall said when the old man was close enough to hear her. "Is it true?"

"I'm afraid so."

Peter was thinking that he should leave as soon as possible but he didn't. This was getting juicy and the marauders were known to gossip.

"And you're sure…" The woman dragged on but didn't finish her sentence when she saw Dumbledore start to nod. He placed a hand on her shoulder and started in a soft voice.

"Yes, Minerva," He looked into her eyes to make sure she was understanding. "It's one of yours."

At that point the pair started to walk off with Peter lightly tip towing behind them with the platter of food still in his hands. They took a right. Peter looked down the corridor. They were on the seventh floor, no stair cases were by them. Peter looked down farther. They were walking towards a group of people. A bathroom door was open and it flooded the hall with light. People milled around.

What the hell are they doing here Peter thought. It was clear that they were from the Ministry. Except two. And they were from St. Mungo's.

It was then that Peter got that feeling. The one that he had only read about in books. Or really just watched in movies as Remus was the only one who read for fun. It started in the ball of his stomach and gripped him. It spread throughout his body. He suddenly understood why Minerva McGonagall, one of the toughest, if not the toughest, of all professors was scared out of her mind.

Peter kept creeping forward. He knew he shouldn't risk being caught but his feet kept moving. The light from the bathroom illuminated the dull floor of the hall. It also showed the white tiles in the bathroom. And the blood that was on it.

"She had such pretty hair."

"I heard she was from Gryffindor, a pity."

"What will the school do now? Will it shut down? This can't be related to the Chamber of Secrets."

"The head girl too."

Peter stumbled on his feet. He turned around narrowly missing an Auror and side stepped a shield of armor. The plump thing was really not helping him. He raced back to his common room. This can't be real. What the fuck? Is this real he kept thinking.

When he got to the fat lady he realized he didn't remember the password. He was always forgetting it. Instead he ripped the cloak off and looked at the painting.

"Let me in." He almost shouted.

"That's not the password, young man and respect your elders." The Portrait hated rude people.

"You're fat." He replied and somehow or other got through to the other side. He took the stairs two at a time to get to his dorm. He crashed into it and was met with the same way it was left. Remus was on his back with his feet propped up on the wall with pillows tucked under him on his bed, reading a book. James and Sirius were throwing darts at each other. The platter fell.

"What the hell mate," Remus turned his head to look at him. When his eyes fell on Peter's face though he instantly sat up. On the other side of the room James and Sirius dropped the darts they were holding. They moved closer.

"Pete, you alright?" Sirius asked cautiously.

"Yeah you kinda spilled the food." Added James.

They all looked at their friend Peter Pettigrew. Damn that short stick.

"D-Death," He started. "Seventh floor, girl's bathroom, blood."

The boys instantly moved closer to him and James extended his arm to Pete. His entire body had started to shake and he was staring at the floor.

"What do you mean death?" Remus started. He was used to his friends embellishing stories and thus became the fact checker of the group.

"Not death," Pete shook his head and for a split second the boys relaxed.

"Not death," Peter continued and the relaxation stopped. Peter looked up and stared into all their eyes.

"Murder."

The air in the room stopped in that moment. Nobody said anything for a whole moment. Peter had to go on though.

"Murder, Lily….Lily Evans has been murdered."


	2. The Body

Chapter two

Mrs. Norris had woken up Professor McGonagall that evening. It actually was pretty early to be going to sleep on a Tuesday night but she was just getting better from a cold and was on strict orders from the head nurse to rest. She had kindly asked Slughorn to take her rounds for the night so she could get the sleep she needed.

It was barely ten when Norris meowed at her. How the hell did that bitch cat from hell (she had stolen that phrase from the marauders and wasn't ashamed at using it) gotten in her room.

It was then that she got up and put her cap and slippers on and followed the feline. She took her up to the seventh floor. She waited for a moment and realized something. Or rather felt something. Something bad. She looked at the cat. She leaned her head slightly forward and looked closely into the eyes of Mrs. Norris. She pulled back after a second and shook her head.

"Now that can't be true," She continued to shake her head. "No, it's not possible."

The cat didn't respond. She kept remarkably still for an animal. She tilted her head and Minerva turned. Professor Dumbledore neared. He stopped in front of her and leaned his head towards her. It was true.

November 8th. Tuesday Night. Before ten O'clock. Lily Evans had been found dead in the girl's bathroom on the seventh floor. It was actually a pretty secluded spot. The bathroom was one of the older loo's that hadn't been renovated yet. The boy's bathroom was around the corner. No class rooms were by it. No major stair cases were located nearby.

The professors moved closer to the group of workers. She stepped into the doorframe of the bathroom. She stopped short and had to hold out a hand to steady her.

Lily was on the floor. And it was quite true that she was dead. Except it wasn't just the fact that she was dead that stopped Minerva from speaking. It was the blood that covered the entire white tile floor. It was the way that her body was mutilated. It was the cuts and bruises that were just now turning purple despite that fact that she was already dead.

The head girl's body was lying still on the floor. It was at an angle with her feet towards the sinks that were bunched together into a circle. He head was in the direction of the door. Blood didn't just surround her. It was everywhere. There had obliviously been a struggle.

The stalls where located to the left of her. Several doors were open. One kept swinging. It creaked a little. Water gushed out of one of the toilets and a sink was still on and letting water run into the basin.

McGonagall jumped when she felt a hand make contact with her shoulder. She let out a breath when she turned to just see the head master. His usual twinkling eyes were hard and serious. They used to be a light blue she thought. Now they were navy.

"I know it's a lot to take in." His voice was like gravel. "The school is about to go on lock down."

"How will we tell the student's?" She had to keep forcing her eyes to look away from the scene. "The last time we had a death the school almost shut down."

"We can rule out the Chamber of Secrets at this point." Dumbledore froze for a minute and she helped him say.

"Somebody killed her." She spoke in a low voice.

"Alastor will be here any minute."

Dumbledore then moved away and back into the hall. He paused and looked back to make sure that his employee followed him. They would have to make sure that the other student's would be safe.

She passed back through the doorframe and took one last look back. Right into Lily's eyes. Those emerald eyes made her stop. They were still open. Her arm was bent upwards and it almost looked as if it meant to reach out and touch her old professor.

But that wasn't what made McGonagall's heart stop. It was her lips. Not quite in a smile but they looked rather pleasant for somebody who had just been killed. The dead girls face was calm. And then a thought came to her head. One that would disturb her for a very long time. One that made her think.

Lily Evans knew who killed her.

"What do you mean Lily Evans is dead?" James stepped back from his friends. "Pete did you eat too many chocolate frogs. Remember that time you thought Moony was a werewolf."

"Remus is a werewolf you prat." He smacked James on the arm and moved to his bed where he sat down and started to tell them what he saw.

Sirius, James, and Remus looked at each other. They were obviously nervous and James kept running his hand through his hair. Sirius hit Remus with his elbow. It was the designated sign that meant Remus had to deal with whatever was going on.

"Pete," He started but was silenced when he heard Professor McGonagall's voice. She was using a spell that would allow her voice to be heard throughout the castle and was regularly used to make announcements.

"Attention students please excuse the interruption but the school is to be on lock down. This means no student is allowed to leave his or her common room. As of this time classes are canceled until further notice. An assembly explaining more will be given tomorrow. Await instruction from your head of house."

The voice went away abruptly and left the boys alone once more. They looked at Peter once again.

"So what exactly did you say again?" Sirius was the first to ask. The announcement made it pretty clear that something bad had happened and if Peter was correct they wanted all the details.

Peter sighed. "I followed them and there it was."

He moved his body to look at James.

"Your dad was there," He said. "Guys I'm telling you the truth. It was Lily Evens and there's no possible way that she's still alive."

"And why not?" Remus put in.

They watched Peter closely as he thought of an answer. He had never been the greatest telling stories or telling lies. He stuttered and could never get thoughts out the way they sounded in his head.

"I saw the body," He started slowly and kept going. "She was looking right at me. Her hair was all around her in a mess."

His hands shook and Sirius moved away opening the door that lead to the stairwell. He could hear fellow Gryffindor's in the common room. Nobody knew what was going on and they had been locked in.

"The blood," Peter continued. "Her body…"

He was quiet for a minute and then looked at all three of his friends. "She's dead. But not just dead. There's a gash in her chest were blood was still running out and her head had a cut and she had big purple knots of bruises on her knees. It looked like somebody had thrown her across the room. The bathroom is a mess with water and blood and then the plumbing is crap…"

"That's enough." James ordered. He was surprised that his friend had actually given a speech like that. They were all quiet for a moment with the sound of other students buzzing below in the common room. Sirius came to sit next to Peter.

"So there's no way she could have killed herself."

Nobody responded. Finally Remus spoke up.

"Guys," He looked down like he was ashamed of something. "When was the last time any of us had spoken to her?"

"The end of fifth year," Peter spoke lamely. "Snape called her a mudblood and she looked like she wanted to kick Prong's ass."

Remus looked at James. "If this is a murder than there will have to be some sort of investigation."

"That's why they have us on lock down." Sirius was looking out the window. It was dark. "They need to do a head count. See who's in and who was out of the castle."

"Do you really think it could be somebody from here?" Remus asked.

"Eh," Sirius turned his head from the window. "Could be anybody."


	3. A Fight

CH. 3

A Fight

Alastor Moody had one good eye. The other one was mad but that didn't stop him from being the best detective in the Auror department. He had a knack for hunting down bad guys. At a young age he garnered attention when he was accepted into the international department and started chasing even worse guys across the continent. Since then he had focused on the nearing dark wizards that had seemed to hone in on his native country of England.

He was a wizard that had seen death and agony. He knew that evil did exist. So when he was woken up at ten on the night of November 8th it was no big deal. He just never thought that his work would bring him to back to Hogwarts.

He looked down at the body that was in front of him. How long had he been in this business? Quite a while and yet he had never seen something quite so gruesome. He was used to seeing tortured soles but the blood was usually contained to a broken nose. Witches and wizards didn't fight with their fists but instead used their wands.

In the case of Lily Evans though the blood loss was massive. What stuck Moody the most was that whatever killed this girl wasn't the usual death curse. He didn't know where to start.

Mad Eye Moody was startled out of his thoughts when a loud flash came from his right shoulder. His eye swiveled to look at Frank Longbottom. A camera was in his hands. He was fresh out of the training program and had somehow landed in Moody's lap. Yet he had to admit that the kid would someday make a great auror.

"Lots of blood this one." Longbottom crouched down and looked closer at the girl. "Lily Evans."

"You know the girl?"

Frank shrugged. "My girlfriends best friend."

He stood back up and looked across the bathroom. The two men from St. Mungo's were waiting patiently. The headmaster looked troubled but kept still allowing the authorities to do what they needed.

"I got all the pictures we need." Frank looked at Moody. "If you're done I believe it will be okay for them to take the body."

Moody gave a curt nod to the EMT's and they stepped forward to start clearing the body.

"That one will need a lot of work before she goes to the family." He spoke.

"Nope," Frank looked at Moody. "She hasn't got any."

"No living relatives?"

"A sister," The head master cut in. "But they were not close."

"Muggleborn?"

"Yes."

"I pity you Albus. This is not a good time to be having muggleborns die in your bathroom."

"How right you are." The head master replied. "Will Frank be okay working this case? I know how close Lily was with Alice."

Moody moved his shoulders up in some sort of twitch or shrug. "The kid has to learn somehow."

"Oiy!" Cried out one of the men who were loading up her body. "Found something in her hand." The medic took out a small clear plastic baggie and put the item in it. He made a note of it in his records and passed it over to the Aurors. Moody held it up into the light. It was a ring.

With that the medics took Lily Evens body out. She would never come back to the school. She never got to take her final tests or start an adult life. She was gone.

"I will be taking my leave now. The school must make preparations." Dumbledore moved out of the bathroom. "Please do what you must."

With that he too was gone and the two aurors were left alone. Moody shut the door and turned out the lights.

"Ready?" He asked. The next order of business would be to find out what magic was used. The first thing Moody had figured out when he arrived at the scene was that the girl's wand was nowhere to be found.

With a flick of his wand and a nonverbal spell the dark bathroom was filled with neon light. A bright red stripe started at the door and ended at the sink where the water had been left running. Lily Evans wand had been taken from her. Chances were that whoever killed her had it.

The room stayed still. No other lines of light reacted with old magic. For a minute the two men were left silent.

"You know," Frank started. "I remember once talking to this muggle born girl when I was at the academy."

"Get on to the point." Growled Moody.

"Well see muggles, girls especially, are taught to fight back. You know if they're ever attacked their told to do all sorts of things like kick back and scream. At all costs they try to defend themselves."

"So you're saying that when Lily, a muggle born girl, was attacked and left wand less she started to fight back anyway."

"Makes since." Frank moved towards the faucet. "She started here, let's assume she was washing her hands when somebody came into the door and use a disarming spell. Terrified she moved either away or towards her opponent."

"Away," Moody put in. The fight seemed to go towards the stalls in the opposite direction of the sinks.

"Away," Frank agreed. "She had a cut of her head so we can once again assume that she hit her head on something."

They both looked around. Moody's eye spotted it first. It was on the edge of a doorframe leading into a stall. Just a small smidge of blood. Lily's face had been knocked into it.

"Okay so there was a scuffle." Moody went on. "She also had bruises on her knees so since you like to assume we can go ahead and say that at some point she was thrown down landing on her knees with such force that it left bruises."

It was at this moment that another bright light this time in an odd shade of blue violet turned into a line. Once again it started at the door way but this time it stopped right were Lily Evans body had been. They approached it and inspected it.

"Blimeny," Frank was the first to speak. "I've never seen a spell like this."

Moody relaxed just a bit. He was on his comfort level once again. Lily had been killed with magic.

**Thanks to everyone who took or is taking the time to read this. It means a lot. Also just for those that need a little help imagining the bathroom that serves as the murder scene it was based on the one from the Chamber of Secrets movie. **


	4. The Memorial

**Disclaimer: Surprise! I don't own HP!**

Ch. 4

The Memorial

The castle was somber. People didn't die at Hogwarts. It just didn't happen. Until now.

McGonagall broke the news to her students that evening. She knew there was no point in waiting. Other head of houses may have waited but she knew her Gryffindor's. And true to her word in the announcement classes were cancelled. Not just for a day but for three. On Saturday they were moved into the Great Hall. They were supposed to have a memorial.

Except Lily Evans had changed. She didn't have many friends. Really only just one. After fifth year she had dropped off the social scene. She wasn't bubbly anymore. She had become hard. The marauders had heard the rumors that her parents had died. She was quiet and kept to herself. Nobody knew her.

So when the whole school sans Slytherin (who just didn't bother to show up) came to the memorial it wasn't special. Yes people were sad. Seventeen was too young of an age to die. Nobody said anything about Lily. They didn't have any fun stories to tell. Dumbledore gave a speech saying how much the head girl would be missed but he didn't mention that she would only be missed by a select few.

The memorial itself was gaudy. A big blown up picture of her was placed where the professor's table usually sat. A long table of food was placed on the right side of the hall. Students milled around.

"Have you tried those mince cakes Moony?" Sirius's mouth was full of one. "Quite delicious."

"You know people don't usually eat at these types of things. Usually they're too sad to."

"I am sad." Sirius swallowed the pie. "They don't have any chocolate cake."

"You're pathetic." Remus concluded.

Sirius ignored him and turned to his friend James. "Did you ever talk to your father?"

James nodded. He had a cup of pumpkin juice in his hands that was really just there so that he had something in his hands. "Yeah, he wrote to say that he had been here briefly just because he was one of the only ones free when the call came in. He's not on the case though, Moody's head of it."

"I heard Frank's been working with him."

James nodded in reply. Frank had only left Hogwarts that past summer and already he had a good position in the auror department. Lucky thought James.

"Er guys," Remus put in. "I don't mean to be rude but is this memorial kinda crap?"

The boys looked at each other. Then they looked around the room. Yeah it was crap.

"Well I think it would be better if they had chocolate cake." Sirius had a thing for sweets.

"It's because she's a muggle born."

The marauders swiveled at the exact same time to find that the speaker was Alice Prewett. She looked horrible. Alice was usually perky and a good natured friend that could get along with anybody. Today though her hair was straggly and dark bags lined her under eyes.

"She's a muggle born." Alice continued. "The Slytherins don't care because she's not a pureblood so they didn't come. The professors act sad but they're not stupid."

Alice paused and looked at the boys before nodding towards the teachers. Each one of them looked worried. Alice moved her head back to them.

"Having a muggle born girl killed in Hogwarts isn't going to help business."

"Surly the public knows that things can happen that the school can't help." Remus tried to reason with her.

Alice's face showed her anger. "Don't be an idiot Remus Lupin. The professors and the public know that Hogwarts was the sight of a muggle born death. We may not have been told how she died but we can assume that death eaters are subject to investigation. This place isn't safe anymore."

Peter, Sirius, Remus and James all stared at her. What the hell had happened to her? She looked savagely at them and Peter took a step backwards. Actually they all did. It wasn't until they went back to their dorm room did they discuss what happened.

"So," Sirius started. "Did Alice go crazy?"

Remus rolled his eyes and sat on his bed. He started to take off his dress shoes and let his tie loose. "Come off it Pad. Her best friend died."

"Doesn't mean she has to go nuts."

Remus kept untying his shoelaces. He thought for a moment before replying. "If I knew that one of my friends was in life threating trouble I would do anything to make sure I kept them safe."

"Aw, thanks Remy." Sirius gave his good friend a pat on the head.

Moony brushed his hand away. "But think about what happened to Alice."

"Um," Peter responded. "What happened to her?"

"Well the Lily I knew wasn't in any kind of trouble. Did you guys get the feeling that she was in trouble?" When they all shook their heads no Remus explained some more. "Which means that one day Alice is woken up and told that her best friend in the entire world is dead."

Sirius was silent for a moment. "Alright, I guess I'll let slide the fact that she kinda lost it back there."

With that conversation over the dorm was silent. Remus had finished getting undressed and was now laying on his bed reading a book. Sirius was reading a gossip magazine which was the only spare thing he chose to read. Peter sat doing nothing being his usual plump self. James just sat on his bed as well. He had a troubling feeling.

"Remus," He started. "You said that she had to be in some kind of trouble."

Remus nodded. "Even if we didn't have Pete's firsthand account it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that something bad had gone down."

Sirius started pouting. "Damn guys this is going over my head what are you saying?"

James turned towards him and started explaining. "We know that Lily was murdered because Wormtail had seen the body and was sure that Lily couldn't have done that to herself. McGonagall only said that Lily had died. She gave no explanation as to how her death came about. That means only us four knew how bloody it really was. But Peter said my dad was here and there have been numerous Aurors and officials around the school."

Remus took over. "Alice probably figured out that there had to be more to the story. The way she was talking today she thinks that Lily had to have been killed by a death eater."

Once again the room was silent. Peter broke it. "But do you think that it was random? Like maybe a couple of future death eaters were walking by, saw Lily alone, and figured they would try to impress this dark lord guy."

"I dueled her once." Sirius said. "She gave me a right good run for my money."

"That's true." James agreed. "Lily could fight with the best of them."

"Yes I was thinking that as well." Remus let out a sigh. "I wish we knew her better."

"I blame James." Sirius pointed at the accused.

"Oh shut it mate."

"Well if you hadn't bugged the hell out of her every day we might have been good buddies."

"Yeah until you tried to get up her skirt."

"That doesn't mean that we still couldn't have been buddies."

"You're sick Padfoot."

"So?" Was his only rebuttal.

"Remus didn't you have rounds with her for prefect duty?"

"Yeah but that was last year and even then after winter break we had new rotations."

Peter spoke up. "I bet Snape is feeling like shit right about now."

That took the whole room by surprise.

"I didn't think that they were still friends." Ventured Remus.

"Yeah but I guess if Alice is going crazy so is he."

Sirius fell back into his bed and sighed. Nobody wanted to think about Snape and Evans. No doubt they all felt guilty for breaking their friendship up.

"Oh Lily, Lily," Sirius muttered. "What the hell did you do to yourself?

**Once again a huge thanks to you guys that have kept reading this. It means a bunch. Please give some feedback. I want to know what you think about the plot so far. Any ideas as to what trouble Lily was in? And how about Moody and Frank?**


	5. A New Version of Lily Evans

**Oh hey here's a pesky disclaimer stating that I don't own HP!**

Ch. 5

A New Version of Lily Evans

Moody had been given an unused classroom to use as his office. It was old and smelled. It was more like a broom closet but he didn't mind. He just needed to use it long enough to interview most of Hogwarts. He had started with Gryffindor and was going through it alphabetically. He had made it all the way to the M's.

He looked at the kid in front of him and with his magical eye he looked down at the file on the desk. Pedro Martinez. Seventh year transfer student from Mexico City, Mexico. When the hell had Hogwarts started to take study abroad kids?

Pedro was a pretty boy. That's the first thing the auror had noticed. He had muscle and his legs were so long that they were bent at an awkward angle under the table. His face was chiseled and dark hair framed his dark eyes. He was leaning back in his chair putting out an attitude that was already pissing the older man off.

"Did you know Lily Evans?"

The young boy sighed and leaned lower in his chair. "Of her."

"Friends?"

"Sure, we were buddies."

"Close?"

"Eh."

"Any information on what activities she was in?"

"Other than studying?" Pedro took out a cigarette and a lighter. Right there in the classroom he decided to light up. "Lily studied and that's all she did. I have class in five minutes."

"Fine," Growled Moody. "Any other information you want to tell us contact me here."

He gave a piece of parchment with directions on how to contact him and with that the kid slipped out of the room with ease. Mad Eye sat back and watched the door that he had served as Pedro's exit. There were no classes that day but he let the kid go anyway. Strange he thought and then called the next student in.

* * *

…

It was Sunday night when it first happened. Alice was trying everything she could to go to sleep. Tomorrow would be the school's first day back to classes. She rolled and twisted. She tried fluffing her pillows and opening a window to let a breeze in. After hours of no sleep she sat up in her bed. Sweat was dripping down her arms but she still had the covers wrapped around her. Alice looked around the room. It was quiet and dark. The moon let in a little bit of a pale silver color. She could see four heads and four sleeping bodies. She felt anger at this. Everybody else could sleep; everybody else was already over Lily's death. It hadn't even been a full week.

Lily had been her best friend since the train ride to Hogwarts their first year. Alice pulled the covers off her and silently put her toes to the ground. She slid off the bed and walked out of the room. The door led to the stair case. If she went down the stair it would lead her to the common room but instead she headed up them.

Lily had a suite all to herself because she was head girl. The staircase ended at her door. Strangely the portrait that led into it was empty. Alice opened it manually and stepped into the common area which was set up like a living room. An empty fire place was to her right with a couch facing it. To the left was a bookcase and Lily's desk. Defending Yourself In Dark Times was on a stack of books. A book like that wasn't the usual reading material of her best friend. Lily apparently had her secrets though.

Alice moved through the room and hopped up the two steps that then led to the bedroom. It housed a huge four poster king bed with red and gold sheets. A vanity was next to the one window in the room. The window itself was huge with a window seat. On the seat more books were scattered around. Lily and her books Alice thought. Lily could read anytime. The books ranged from classic muggle authors like Jane Austen and Shakespeare to more contemporary authors. Her go to favorite though was Hogwarts, A History. She never left her room without it. The book had a home in her knapsack that she used for school.

The room was empty except for Alice. She thought back to times when they had sleepovers. It was only November and the school year had started in September. Lily hadn't gotten to use this room for very long. And she was so busy, Alice too, that they didn't get to see each other as they used to. Seventh year was pounding them into responsible witches that society could use. That meant that any spare time was used for studying or sleep. They no longer shared a dorm so it restricted their time to see each other even more.

Alice and Lily had been the type of friends that could catch up at any time. They would go months without seeing each in the summer and on September 1st they could share a compartment on the train and talk for hours about the events that had happened in each other's lives.

Except this time Alice couldn't catch up. Lily wouldn't reappear suddenly from a long vacation. She wasn't busy studying or doing her rounds as head girl. She was gone. Alice had been repeating this in her head for days now. Yet she couldn't believe it. Alice had been the closest thing Lily had to family. Her parents were dead and her sister was basically dead as well. Alice hadn't gotten any explanation as to how Lily had died. Was it just a bad accident? Perhaps she slipped in the bathroom and hit her head with such force that it had caused her fatal harm. She would never kill herself on purpose. Alice decided that somebody had hurt Lily when she spotted Mad Eye Moody in the Great Hall. Her boyfriend Frank was working with him so she knew what he usually dealt with. Dark magic.

Alice climbed up on the bed and moved underneath the covers. She put her head on the pillow and took a deep breath. Lily's favorite shampoo smelled like the ocean. She got a few whiffs of sea salt and closed her eyes.

Alice didn't usually dream. Everybody else got movies in their head when they slept but Alice was always out like a light. She would go to bed and then wake up eight hours later feeling refreshed and relaxed. But this time she did dream. It was the first dream she remembered having in a very long time. Instead of the black nothing that filled her head when she slept she saw flashes of white light. A mane of red hair swung around in her mind. She smelled the salt in her sleep. Lily was there. She knew it. Lily had come to her in her dream.

"I'm okay," the voice whispered. "I'm okay."

Alice tried to speak but no words formed. Her mouth moved and let out a garble of words that made no sense.

"Protect him."

Lily's face became clear. She was standing up in the dream and reached her hand out. She took somebody's hand and held it. Alice realized it was hers. She instantly felt a warmth that Alice knew only Lily could give off. Protect who she thought. What did Lily want?

"Protect him."

With those final words the grasp Alice felt slipped away. The flashes of white weren't just in her mind. The sun was shining on her face. Her eyes opened and she saw that breakfast would be over in the Great Hall soon and then classes would begin. She sat up in the bed. Just those few hours of sleep had made her calmer and put some life into her. It was the first time Alice had slept in days. She looked around Lily's room and smiled. Even in a dream her best friend could make her feel better.

Alice rose from the bed and went into the bathroom. She took a shower and used Lily's shampoo. Lily had once told her that her mum loved the stuff and ordered it from France just because she couldn't live without it. She turned off the tap and took a towel from a hook right outside the shower curtain. It was white and fluffy. It was good quality for a towel. Alice wrapped it around herself and got out. She looked into the mirror and wiped it clean with her hand. The steam from the shower had fogged it up but now she could see clearly. Lily must have looked at herself in this exact mirror. Lily had red hair and green eyes. Not just green though. They were emerald. Alice had brown hair and eyes. Now her hair was wet and her eyes were sad. At least the sleep she had just gotten had removed the deep bags underneath her eyes.

It was then that she went to open a cupboard next to the sink. A toothbrush, some deodorant, floss, one tube of lipstick, a couple of nail polishes, and a lone razor were all sitting there ready to help somebody with their daily cleaning rituals. Alice looked for an extra toothbrush and finally found one in the back of the first shallow shelf. The girl then went to grab the toothpaste that was perched on the sink. She knocked it off. It fell in a tight corner, behind some major pipes right next to the wall. The bathroom was small so it was just a standalone sink with no counter space. That why there was a vanity in the bedroom.

Alice crouched down with the towel still around her. She was alone so it didn't matter if it fell showing her body but she was used to sharing a bathroom with four girls so habits die hard. Alice's small hand slipped between the pipes and grabbed the paste. On her way back her hand got stuck between two pipes and she started to twist it in an attempt to get it free. Damn the toothpaste she just needed her hand back. She finally got it loose by giving one great pull with her arm that sent her tumbling back onto her bottom. As her hand came free from the pipes it grazed the floor and pulled up a lone white tile.

Shocked Alice just looked at the tile. She leaned forward and found the place where it used to belong. What surprised her the most was that there was no concrete floor where it came from. Alice reached into the hole that had once been covered by the tile. She pulled out a small black journal bound in leather. She opened the cover. Lily's handwriting was scrawled across the first page.

_Property of Lily Evans_

* * *

…

Alastor Moody had left the makeshift office in Hogwarts for his real one at the ministry. He walked through the floor designated for his department and continued to head down the corridor. He swung left into an alcove and opened a door. He had enough rank to get a room for his team with a corner office for himself.

Kinglsley Shacklebolt sat at his desk. He was making a paper airplane. Moody had taken down a number of most wanted wizards and somehow his team consisted of Longbottom and Shacklebolt. Life could be unfair sometimes.

Moody moved away from the room and entered his office. He dropped his briefcase on the desk. The desk itself wasn't used much but served as a place to put every piece of crap he could find. Crap meaning paperwork. He walked back into the common room which served as a place where his team could have group discussions about the cases that they were involved in. it was also where Kingsley and Frank had their desks.

Frank came in at that moment and put down a pile of notes. He took off his coat and shook water off himself. Kingsley instinctively pushed his chair back so that the paper airplane would not be harmed.

"It's pouring out there." Frank moved things around on his desk and flipped through the stack of papers that he had brought in. "Moody, I was reviewing all the interviews that had occurred with the students two days ago and I noticed this one." He pulled up a file and waved it in Moody's face.

Pedro Martinez's name flashed in front of him. The head auror shoved it away from his face at the same time that Shaklebolt plucked it out of Frank's hand.

"What about it?" Moody sat down in a spare chair. He propped up his bad leg.

"Well see I was comparing them to the others and I got to thinking and I remembered when I was at Hogwarts-"

"The point Longbottom." Moody had learned quickly that Frank liked to ramble on getting all his thoughts out. Moody just needed to know one simple point that could lead them to something solid.

"At Hogwarts you get type casted from first year and people always see you the same. So looking at what other students were saying about Lily is a general stereo type of her personality. Smart, red hair, head girl that was always nice. But look at what this kid is saying and how he presents himself."

"Did this guy really pull out a cigarette?" Kingsley raised an eyebrow.

"See," Frank pointed at a certain section in the report. "Martinez doesn't care about anything. So when he talks about Lily he actually sees her for what she is."

"So he isn't blind?" Kingsley received a smack by Moody.

"I understand what you're saying Longbottom. Most of the students already had an image of Lily in their mind, one that had probably been there since day one."

"Exactly," Frank couldn't help but feel good about himself. He wanted to impress Moody. "Martinez came into Hogwarts and has a different perspective on everything. He might have seen a different side to her that others were oblivious too."

"Helping the case that he's not blind." Kingsley's head received another blow.

"I'll call him back in to question him further." Moody moved away from the two boys.

"Actually you won't." Kingsley turned his chair. Merlin he loved rolling office chairs. "Since he's in the back room."

Moody and Frank moved their bodies to peer into a back room that they kept free for questioning.

"Did you want to mention that earlier?" Moody asked.

Kingsley just shrugged and threw his airplane into the air. It landed less than a foot away from him.

Moody moved towards Martinez and opened the door. He came in and sat down with Frank in the chair next to him. The boy had another cigarette in his mouth and was slouching in his chair. Dark black hair covered his eyes.

"Any more information you want to give us?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you growl?"

"Tell us something or get out."

The boy leaned back into his chair and looked to his side. Nothing but a wall was there but he collected his thoughts and Moody waited. He came for a reason and Moody wanted to know why.

Pedro swung his head to look back at them. He let out a breath and moved his hands onto the table. They were clasped together. "I don't know where to start."

"Anywhere is fine."

"A secret for a secret."

"Meaning?"

"It was a game I played once with Lily."

"What's your secret?"

Pedro's eyes met Moody's. "That doesn't matter."

"I think it does."

He was quiet for a while and then he shrugged. What the hell he thought. "I sleep with women." He looked straight at the auror. "For money."

Moody passed no judgment. Pretty boys did what they pleased he thought. "And the secret she told you in return."

The boy took a long drag. He pointed at the two men in front of him and used a deeper voice. "It's the only reason I came here. I don't usually give away people's innermost secrets." He took another drag on his cigarette. "But this time I had too. Look I don't have much information on what I'm about to tell you but somebody is gonna have to help him."

"Who?"

"Her son."

It was dead silent in the room. The aurors were in the back of their seats.

"A son?"

Pedro nodded. "I know for a fact. I've seen him myself but I don't know the location. It was some orphanage that would help her out by keeping him when she was at Hogwarts."

"And you have no information? Not even a name?"

"Yeah I got a name."

They looked at each other. Moody moved his hand as if to say go on.

"What's the name?"

"Harry."

**Yay! For Baby Harry! Please tell me your thoughts. And a huge Thank you to whoever is reading this!**


	6. On The Case

**This is a random reminder that I'm not J.K.R.**

Ch. 6

On the Case

Moody and Longbottom moved out of the small room and closed the door. They looked through the huge window that showed the entire room. Pedro was still sitting there with his hands on the table. He was somber and he leaned forward. His nose almost touched the table but it didn't.

"He's telling the truth." Moody looked at Frank.

"Are you sure?"

"He came to tell us because he's concerned that the child will be harmed." Moody started to move back into the main part of the office. He looked down to make sure that a magic quill had taken down notes of all that had been said. When he made sure they were accurate he moved back into the room with Pedro.

"Thank you for coming in with this information. It will be useful." Moody extended a hand to him. The boy shook it and moved past him to make his leave.

Kingsley who was still at desk with a new paper airplane winked at him. He winked back.

"Cheeky bastard." Kingsley rolled around to face the other two. They all heard the door shut behind them. "I wonder how much he makes."

"Looking for a new career?" Moody grabbed some spare parchment and started to jot down a short letter. "Where the hell is one of those owls?"

"I thought you were looking to be the Minister of Magic." Frank sat back down in his seat. Their desks were identical in size and appearance. They were placed next to each other.

"Yeah but the Daily Prophet is always looking for a good scandal." Shaklebolt threw the plane up into the sky again but this time he pulled out his wand and the plane swooped down with speed. In an instant the main door was open and it flew out on a mission. "Can you imagine the headlines? Minister used to be a prostitute! Made good money!"

"It's the only job you'll have if you don't get to work soon." Moody started to put up the pictures that Frank had taken. Kingsley hadn't been at the scene so he couldn't rip his eyes off of them. It was just so wrong. So bloody. "The clocks ticking. We have a muggle born death at Hogwarts. This won't bode well. We've kept it out of the prophet for less than a week. When it hits the front page though expect hell."

Moody sat back down. He wished that he could stand longer but his leg just couldn't take it. He leaned back in his seat and stared at the file that documented the interview with Pedro. His mad eye rolled back to look at Frank. "I'm guessing Alice didn't know."

"I guess not." He replied sourly.

Moody made a note and suddenly turned to face Kingsley who was reading Witch Weekly. He unceremoniously dumped the entire file on the man's desk. "Look that over. I want to know where Lily Evans grew up and what orphanages are in that area. Chances are they're linked. Muggles have a comfort zone that's predictable."

He then turned swiftly back to Longbottom. He was starting to see a path that could lead him to answers. "Pedro Martinez is a loner. It's obvious from the way he acts and talks. Keep an eye on him anyway. Doubt he told us everything he knows. I need a list of students and then I need the other list."

"Other list?" Frank asked.

"The other list," he barked while throwing up an arm. "The list we have compiled in the last Order meeting."

The three men sat in silence for a moment. For Moody to bring up just the slightest mention of the Order of the Phoenix was risky. The Ministry hadn't been penetrated so far and for the most part the public had been kept unaware of a pesky man going by the name of Voldermort. Many witches and wizards suspected that something sinister was going on and those that were smart were making preparations for the impending war. The Ministry was lucky enough to still have the Daily Prophet under their thumb because who knows what kind of terror one bad headline could unleash among the masses.

Wordlessly Frank opened a drawer and grabbed a blank piece of parchment. He placed it on his desk and tapped it with his wand. Dark lettering began to appear. It contained a list of thought to be or soon to be Death Eaters. He took out the school records that Dumbledore had provided them and compared the two.

"Many of these thought to be acting in the dark arts have already left Hogwarts as graduates or on their own accord." Frank moved towards another list. "There were only two students in the Hospital Wing, both not on the suspected list. The one Slytherin prefect that is on the list was seen on the other side of the building and this is verified by the Madame in the French portrait. Apparently she was trying to flirt with him."

"You know I was thinking about that." Kingsley had his feet on his desk and was leaning all the way back in his chair making it bend backwards. He was trying to catch candy in his mouth. "I know those portraits at Hogwarts. And they're a damn big bunch of gossips. Half my pranks would get ratted out because of their mouths."

"I thought about that too." Frank put down all the papers he had in his hands. "Why did an entire corridor of portraits leave their paintings at that exact time?"

"I think they knew something bad was going to happen." Kingsley caught a red gumdrop in his mouth. "Like how animals leave when some sort of bad natural disaster is about to hit."

"They should have stayed and helped us out."

"Nah but then what kind of fun would we have?"

Suddenly the door bolted open. A small brown barn owl came in with his feathers ruffled. Behind him a paper airplane was poking him forward.

"Right about time. Took you long enough." Kingsley chided his creation. He rolled his chair back and got onto his feet. He smiled at Moody. "There you are one much needed owl."

Moody let out a sigh which sounded more like a growl. Best auror in the Ministry and this is what he got. Moody would laugh his ass off if Kingsley Shacklebolt was ever made Minister of Magic. He grabbed the letter that he had written out and made sure that the owl got hold of it. He opened a small window and the bird flew out. The airplane chased after the animal.

"Was that a letter to Dumbledore telling him that his wonderful exchange student is not what he seems?" Kingsley was still standing. He was putting on his coat jacket and popped one more piece of candy in his mouth. "Well I've done enough work for today. See you lads later."

He stopped to pat Frank on the shoulder and leaned his head down. "Don't fret over Alice too much. She'll be alright."

And with that he was gone. Frank looked at the closed door. Kingsley reminded him of Sirius Black. Such ease that made you envy his personality but you couldn't take him at face value. He was smart as a whip and if Frank ever got in a fight he would want Shacklebolt as his back up. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that one day in a much happier time his friend would become Minister.

Alice was sitting by herself on the concrete steps that led out of the castle. If she followed them down she would be met with a path that winded down to the Whomping Willow. But Alice didn't continue down to the tree. Instead she sat and looked down at her hands. The black leather journal was being held in place by them.

All day Alice couldn't keep her mind off it. And yet she couldn't bring herself to open it beyond the first page. She didn't want to read it. And then she did. But what if she did read something and later regretted it. It was too complicated.

So instead of dealing with it she tucked it back into her bag and stood up. She headed in the direction of her dorm. She had just passed through the entrance to the school when a voice struck out at her.

"Alice Prewett."

It took her a moment to find the speaker. He was hidden in the shadows, leaning into the wall with his arms crossed across his chest. He was speaking to her but his body was faced in the direction of the Whomping Willow. He took a moment to look up at the full moon before turning his body so that it actually faced hers. She herself hadn't move once she found him. She recognized him as the exchange student.

"You were Lily's friend."

Alice didn't reply immediately. She didn't want to be a gossip but she was struck with the notion that maybe Pedro Martinez knew something. Of course everybody's first impression of Pedro was that he was a pretty boy.

"You were her best friend actually." He kept talking to her even though she hadn't said a word.

Pedro came closer to her until they were inches apart. Alice looked into his eyes and found that she couldn't move her body even with the knowledge that his hand was sliding towards her. Standing still his arm moved back up this time holding the journal that she had found just that morning.

At the sight of it in his hand her trance broke and she moved back. She snatched it out of his hand.

"I see you found that. It's a good read." He took out a box of cigarettes. "Have you read it yet?"

Alice nodded no. She found that she wasn't really afraid of him. There was something about him that made her want to stay and listen to him. It went against everything she had been taught. If you are approached by strange men at night always run was what her mum used to say.

Pedro had the cigarette in his mouth. His hands moved around to his pockets. He finally found a lighter in his back left pocket and lit it. He was wearing jeans which she thought was unusual. He must have come from somewhere else.

"Are you scared to read it?" he asked.

"Were you her friend?" she asked instead of answering the question.

"Yes I would say so." Pedro moved back to the open entrance and looked out towards the tree. He then let out a breath of smoke. "Are you afraid of her secrets?"

"Everybody has secrets."

"You don't like answering question do you?"

"I can't answer that."

Pedro smiled at her. His teeth were so white and he let out a charm. He stepped forward.

"Are you scared of her secrets?"

Alice took a moment to think about it. If somebody had asked her a week ago if Lily Evans had any deadly secrets she would have laughed and said no. Now it turned out that her secrets had killed her. She nodded no and Pedro was once again inches from her.

"Good," He was so serious. "Then you can help me find her killer."


	7. A Team May Be Formed

Ch. 7

A Team May be Formed

The next time Alice saw Pedro he was sitting on a bench outside of potions. It was taught in the dungeons with Professor Slughorn. Today the Gryffindor's were lucky enough to have it with the Ravenclaws instead of the seventh year pricks in Slytherin.

He was sitting on the bench by himself. It wasn't close to the door and most of the students who were already there were in a bunch by the door. Alice was far enough down the corridor that if she turned she could leave without anybody noticing her. Pedro was hunched forward staring at his hands. The other students were too busy talking about stuff that honestly didn't matter.

Alice looked down at herself. She was wearing Lily's clothes. She felt like maybe she had gone too far. The uniform was identical to hers and nobody would be able to tell the difference but she still felt strange. Like she wasn't walking around in her skin. She knew her old roommates were already freaked out that she had basically moved into the head suite.

It was the only place that still felt like Lily's. Which made sense because it was the only place in the whole castle where Lily could be herself. Muggle borns had always be on guard. Alice slept in her bed and used her shampoo. And now she was wearing her clothes. Somewhere in the back of her head she knew that she wasn't okay. She knew she should be asking for help. Nobody would blame her. Lily was her best friend after all. Except how could she go the professors who she knew were lying to her? They knew that Lily hadn't just died. She had been killed but nobody would tell anything.

The journal was sitting in her bag in between her DADA spell book and her essay for Charms. She wouldn't go anywhere without it.

She was still staring at her clothes. She had on thick black combat boots that she had put on just because she felt like stomping around. She pulled her cozy black cardigan tighter across her chest. The sleeves were in a fist held by her hands. She felt on edge. Really Alice she thought turning into a goth.

She looked down the hall and saw that he hadn't moved. She walked forward and went past the group of mixed students. She stopped right in front of him. He looked up.

"You haven't read it yet." He didn't even bother to ask if she had.

She was quiet for a moment. She had questions for him. Some she was sure he could answer and other neither of them would ever find out.

"Did you know her secrets?"

He shrugged and moved his upper body. He now had better posture. "I knew more than most would think."

"So then what do you want to do?"

They stared at each other. They both knew what they wanted to do. She didn't know where they would start something like that though. They could play detectives all they wanted to but it would only lead to heartbreak. Lily wasn't coming back.

He broke the moment though when he reached into his pocket and grabbed a cigarette. The kid had a real problem.

"Anybody ever tell you that you smoke too much?"

He couldn't find his lighter so he pulled out his wand. "Yeah, Lily told me every day."

Something snapped. Maybe it was the fact that he stood there with an eerie ease and talked about Lily as if they had been bffs. He had been here less than three months.

"Do you have ideas on who killed her?" She bluntly asked and he heard the coldness in her voice.

"We're gonna need more information first."

"Like?" She was getting annoyed with him fast and her temper was rising.

He nodded to a group of boys that were making their way to the door of the class, which was still unopened. Who knew where Slughorn was. They neared the door and hung back from the group.

"Are you kidding me?" Alice swung her head around to see that he wasn't. "How the fuck are the marauders going to help us?"

Pedro let out a breath and ashes fell to the floor. "Relax, we have to put the puzzle together."

It was then that Alice did something that she thought was below her. She reached out and grabbed the cigarette. She put it in her mouth took in a deep breath, let one out, and stomped the stupid thing out. Good thing she wore the boots. But it didn't stop there because hell everybody these days smoked. She reached out once again and hit him in the shoulder. They both looked at each other surprised.

"Chica." He raised an eyebrow and she felt challenged.

"Screw you, "And her arm made contact with his shoulder again. He stood up and she realized that she was pretty short. "You didn't know her."

"I did."

She looked up at him and his face was hard. Fuck him she thought and in an instant Alice's hand had made contact with his face. Within seconds the place where her hand had been there was a red mark replacing it. Her hand stung. Worse though was the fact that it had made such a loud noise that the group of students including the famous marauders had heard the commotion.

Once again it should have stopped there. Alice could have walked off and Pedro could have taken out another one of his beloved cigarettes. But it didn't because Alice swung her hand out again. He caught the body part while his own body ducked to the left. She brought her foot down on his. Merlin she loved this boots. Her hand formed a fist and he knocked his body into hers.

The entire group of seventh Gryffindors and Ravenclaws watched with amazement. Who fought with their fists? The fight went on for another thirty seconds with Alice scratching and clawing at him while he swerved and blocked her. Remus Lupin was the first to break out of the stupor. Being the good prefect he was he dropped his book bag and marched forward yanking the girl away. She kept fighting though but he moved her away from her opponent. Pedro took his bag and left without saying a word.

Somebody from Ravenclaw had opened the classroom door and was ushering students in. Remus placed Alice down in front of him and held her arms until he was sure he wouldn't get hit with a backhand.

"Let go," She was in a complete mess. Her sweater was half way off her and her bag finally slumped down on the floor beside her. Remus eyed her clunky shoes.

"You have to stop." He ordered.

She rocked back and forth on her feet finally finding her balance again. She blew out hot air and her hair moved slightly. She was alone with the marauders. She fixed her sweater and pulled her bag up.

"If you ever cared about Lily Evans you'll all meet me in the common room and midnight." And with that she huffed off in the opposite direction.

"What the fuck was that?" Sirius looked after her before turning back to his mates. "I told you she was crazy."

* * *

Mad Eye Moody could barely remember his time at Hogwarts. Granted he was only a middle aged man but fighting the dark arts had taken a toll on him. Had he been happy at Hogwarts? Probably he was a well-liked good student. An all-around great addition to Gryffindor. But now decades later the only time he really thought about happy thoughts it was to perform a spell or occasionally add a good memory into a dreaming potion which he would treat himself to after a hard days work. He didn't have time to sit around and remember the good ole school days.

He entered without much thought. His one good leg was stiff. He had been sitting at his desk for most of the day looking through paperwork trying to find a lead. As far as anyone knew Lily Evans had no enemy's. Nobody thought she was in any trouble. She had been able to hide a pregnancy. So the Auror sat and looked through stacks of interviews and information. No relatives in the Wizarding community with an axe to grind. As a muggleborn she could have been on a target list.

Moody was saved the trouble of remembering Dumbledore's password as the stairwell automatically opened as the man walked closer. He carefully and slowly walked up to the headmaster's office. He saw that Fawkes was a pile of ashes.

"Evening Alastor," Dumbledore looked up with his eyes looking over the small spectacles he wore.

Moody grunted in reply before taking a seat. He propped up his leg while other headmasters looked down at him from their paintings disapprovingly. He certainly made himself at home.

"You got the owl?"

"I did," replied the headmaster.

"Nice foreign exchange student you got there."

The room was quiet but the air stirred while the older of the two gentlemen thought. His face was old and blank. He then moved a hand to point towards his bird's ashes.

"Fawkes burned on the night of Miss. Evan's death."

Moody looked around to find the pile of ashes that he had already seen on the way in.

"It's been a week and he's not been reborn?" Moody asked. That was surprising as Phoenix's were basically immortal. When their bodies grew old and tired they were burn and be reborn from the ashes. It really only took moments for the creatures to regenerate.

"Yes," Dumbledore sadly responded. Fawkes was his best companion. He sat back from his desk and fixed his posture. He then opened a drawer and pulled out a bag of candy. Moody didn't recognize the label so he figured it was a muggle brand. Dumbledore was a lover of anything sweet. He declined an offer from the man and waited till a piece of candy had been swallowed.

"Pedro seemed to be close with Lily. I would occasionally notice him walking with Lily on her rounds at night for her head girl duties. I overlooked the fact that she let him get away with being past curfew." Dumbledore paused again gathering his thoughts before going on. "It seemed platonic. Just a new friend that Lily had found in her last year here."

Dumbledore dug through the bag looking for a specific color of candy. A red one popped in his mouth and was chewed. "You see, Alastor, after fifth year Lily came back changed. I hate that word change. But it's what happened with Lily. Supposdly she had ended fifth year with a fight resulting in the loss of a child hood friend and then she left early her sixth year when her parents were both killed."

"So she grew hard." Moody had learned all of this from student but he still found it interesting coming from Dumbledore. "She was able to hide her baby from the entire school."

"Yes," Dumbledore sighed and put down the bag of goodies. "I feel like a failed her in many ways."

Moody ignored the comment. "That boy knows more than he's telling."

"I agree."

"So we wait to see what he does."

"It's a sound plan but I believe he doesn't know where the child is."

"No but I bet he's planning to find him."

"The baby's name is Harry?"

"Yes."

Moody hesitated before going on. "Did you know the boy was sleeping with women for money?"

For a split second Moody thought he had offended him but to his amazement the older gentleman threw his head back laughing. He nodded his head no but Moody had a sneaky suspicion that Dumbledore had a distant feeling about Pedro's work habits. Dumbledore stopped laughing and went on without answering the question. He pushed a piece of paper towards Moody.

He read it briefly before looking up at Dumbledore with a confused look on his face. The headmaster nodded solemnly.

"You're planning to bury the girl here?"

"There is no other choice. The sister will not take the body."

Moody hadn't thought about what would happen to the cold lifeless body. In every report he had read it stated that there was no family other than a sister. Apparently she wasn't a very good one.

"We will quietly bury her here without much pomp and circumstance I must say." Dumbledore continued. "The memorial went less than stellar."

"Did everybody turn their back on her?"

"She had a friend named Alice that she was quite close to but I hear reports from her professors of troubling news. I cannot believe she had any indication about Lily's death."

"Do you have any ideas on who could have killed her?"

Pair of men stared at each other. It was the first time Dumbledore had been asked that. He nodded no.

* * *

"We can't seriously go." Sirius stated.

"Alice would track us down and kill us." Remus replied. The four boys were waiting in their dorm deciding on whether or not they should go down to the common room. It was ten till midnight.

"Oh, so let's just give into the crazy person."

"She's not crazy."

"She almost killed that guy." Peter pointed out. He was sitting on his bed with his feet barely touching the ground. Remus was making his bed which seemed useless as it was night. He was still tired though from his ordeal with the moon. But after looking into Alice's eyes this morning he saw a look that he couldn't refuse. James finished up an essay while for no apparent reason Sirius was standing up in the middle of his bed.

The four had been discussing the fight that had occurred earlier all day and they had gone back and forth with the thought of meeting Alice.

Sirius laughed while bouncing slightly on his bed. "Did you see that guy? I dunno who he is but he sure pissed her off."

"Alice has been really upset lately." Remus reasoned. "It's hard to lose a best friend suddenly."

"So, that doesn't mean you have to hit some random guy." Sirius used his own logic.

"I don't think he was random." James added. The boys stopped to look at James who hadn't contributed to his friend's conversation in a while. Putting his quill down he turned in his chair.

"I saw them talking when we walked up to the classroom." James shrugged at the thought. "I don't think anybody else noticed them until she had slapped him though."

Sirius jumped and landed on his bottom. "Okay so he broke up with her and then she went bat shit crazy."

"You prat," Remus commented. "She's still dating Frank Longbottom."

Sirius shook his shoulder up and down in a sort of I don't know gesture. "I don't even know who he is."

"Are you serious?" Remus looked at him in dismay. "Hogwarts's first exchange student. How do you not know who he is?"

"Woah," he held his hand up to stop Remus. "When did we get exchange students?"

A pillow was thrown in his direction.

"I think we should go." James said.

"I whole heartedly agree." Remus put in.

Peter shrugged and they all looked at Sirius. One for all and all for one. They wouldn't go if Sirius truly thought it was a bad idea. He took a moment to decide and then jumped off the bed again and ran to open the door. He gestured to the other men in the room and held it open for them.

It had been decided that they would go.


End file.
